Favorites from China

With so many families still waiting for their referrals from China, including one good friend, I thought I would share some highlights from both of my trips. In 2003, I traveled to Guangxi Province, staying in Nanning and Guilin, to adopt my first baby girl. The trip was magical. We flew into Hong Kong and toured the magnificant city one day, and then took another plane to Nanning, where are babies were waiting for us. We spent a few days in Nanning, finalizing the adoption, and then traveled by bus to Guilin, the birthplace of Big Sister. Guilin was incredibly beautiful.

Last May (2007), I traveled again to China to adopt my second baby, beginning my trip once again in Hong Kong. My best friend and I decided to leave a few days early so that we could further explore Hong Kong. She loves jade and enjoyed visiting some of the jewelry stores in the city. I especially enjoyed touring Po Lin Monestary on Lantau Island. It was lovely. Unlike the first trip in 2003, our travel group only went from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, giving us two full weeks at the White Swan and plenty of time to shop.

Here are a few highlights from each of my trips. I hope my readers enjoy them.

FAVORITE SPOT #1 (Guilin countryside in Guangxi Province, birthplace of Big Sister.)



FAVORITE SPOT #2 (Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island in Hong Kong). You can get there by car or cable. If you are afraid of heights, I don't recommend the cable because the cars are very small and they travel very high up in the mountain. We opted for the taxi which was a harrowing experience too with drivers who speed like lightening through the winding roads. Once we got there, we were happy to have made the journey, but we looked for an older, calmer driver for the way back down.



BEST LUNCH CHOICE #1: (If you are craving American food, try the club sandwich and French fries from the White Swan Hotel cafe. If you don't mind a little hard-boiled egg on your sandwich, it is delicious! You can sit by the pool if the weather is nice and order it there too.)



BEST LUNCH CHOICE #2: (From the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong, my traveling companion and I enjoyed a delicious vegetarian meal of fresh steamed vegetables, mushroom soup, and spring rolls. The spring rolls were some of the best I have ever had.)




FAVORITE FINDS FOR CHILDREN:

SQUEAKY SHOES (They come in every color and are extremely cheap so buy as many as you can. They make great gifts for friends too!)



Hello Kitty Utensil Sets (includes chopsticks)




FAVORITE FINDS FOR ADULTS:

(PEARL FACTORY) - Guangzhou has many pearl factories where they will hand string beautiful pearl necklaces, bracelets and earrings while you wait, all reasonably priced.



Japanese wooden dolls




BEST MOMENT:

Gotcha Day (February 11, 2003 with my ex-husband)




Adoption Day: (May 16, 2007)



Now that I have shared my favorite memories from China, I would like to invite (tag) some of my friends to share highlights of their adoption journey.

Meredith Teagarden
http://notsolongago.blogspot.com/

Connie
http://mommy24treasures.blogspot.com/

Sheryl
http://ourredthreadjourney.blogspot.com/